News & Events

04
November
2016
Taking A Ride With Arch Motorcycle Company's Gard Hollinger

Taking A Ride With Arch Motorcycle Company's Gard Hollinger

Courtesy Jason Fogelson, FORBES CONTRIBUTOR

When you partner with a major Hollywood star on a project that is not based in the entertainment industry, it can be difficult to be taken seriously. Arch Motorcycle Company co-founder Gard Hollinger understood that when he started his business with co-founder Keanu Reeves, but both founders believe that their obsessive commitment to building a premium, high-quality motorcycle will succeed on its own terms. The Hollywood angle gives them an opportunity to get into the spotlight; the bikes themselves are the stars.

Gard Hollinger is a California native, and a lifelong motorcyclist. “Gard” is his full first name (“Mother with a weird sense of humor,” he claims), not short for anything. He started on mini bikes, and soon moved into motocross and racing. A serial entrepreneur from a young age, Hollinger started his first business at 12 or 13 re-sharpening saw blades. Later in his teens, he started work as a mechanic, making a living as a marine mechanic at a marina, eventually becoming the service manager at that facility. He then left for school, and after receiving a degree, relocated to Seattle. “The first business I owned as an adult was a motorcycle-related business called ‘Devol Engineering,’” he said. “We manufactured protective gear for motorcyclists.” A series of other businesses followed, including a wholesale car brokerage and a limousine service. “Then I met my wife, who lives in Southern California. I sold everything I owned in Seattle and one day I just said, ‘I’m going to get back into motorcycles.’”

A job as a mechanic and fabricator at a Los Angeles area shop brought Hollinger into the burgeoning Harley-Davidson custom world of the 1990s, and he eventually opened his own shop. Over the next decade, he accumulated equipment, space and a reputation for obsessively precise work. A friend brought him to the attention of Keanu Reeves, who needed some minor customization work done on his personal bike. “I told him ‘no,’ because the work was not the kind that interested me,” said Hollinger. But Reeves was persistent, and the two men decided to embark on a full custom build. The bike that emerged from their collaboration was the first KRGT – a bike that is now displayed in the lobby of Arch’s Hawthorne, California factory headquarters. Eventually, Hollinger and Reeves decided to start Arch Motorcycle Company to refine and produce their vision of a premium factory custom motorcycle. The first bike was delivered in 2015.

The production bike, the KRGT-1, is built around a 124-inch S&S 45-degree fuel-injected V-twin engine, developed jointly with Arch. S&S is a long-established engine manufacturer and speed shop that builds aftermarket motorcycle engines and parts for Harley-Davidsons. Arch’s innovation involves moving the air intake from the side of the engine to a downdraft position between the two halves of the gas tank, which means that the rider no longer has to deal with an air cleaner sticking out of the side of the engine. This subtle bit of engineering has a direct effect on the ergonomics and comfort of the bike.

Arch makes extensive use of billet aluminum in the construction of the KRGT-1, thanks to an impressive CAD system and CNCC machines in their workshop. Many parts that are formed from sheet metal on conventional motorcycles, like the gas tanks, are carved from solid aluminum billet on the KRGT-1. The resulting parts are stronger, lighter and more precisely built than mass-produced items. Parts that cannot be efficiently built in-house are sourced from first rate suppliers, like S&S and Ohlins. High-tech premium materials are used in every area of the bike, from titanium axle adjusters to carbon fiber wheels.

None of this would matter if the bike didn’t look gorgeous and ride responsively – and it does both.

My first impression of the KRGT-1 was of its craftsmanship, fit and finish. A lot of companies build low number production bikes with V-twin engines, and the quality varies widely. The KRGT-1 has a glow about it that comes from precision manufacturing, and it has a great stance that comes from Hollinger’s eye for design. Everything is machined to fit, and no slapdash details betray the total package.

Hollinger and I took a pair of bikes out for a ride. We battled Los Angeles’ freeway system to get to the Sunset Boulevard exit of the 405, and then took the famous road to the Pacific Ocean, where we swapped machines for the return ride to Arch. Each bike was set up a little differently – one in a mild café-racer style with rear-set pegs, low grips and a tall, flat seat; and one in a more relaxed cruiser style, with forward controls, a flat bar and a scooped out seat. The cruiser-style bike was more to my liking, but both bikes gave me a good idea of how the engine, six-speed transmission, suspension and braking systems all worked together. The KRGT-1 feels solidly built, has ample power and a very connected riding feel. Our brief one-hour ride was a great introduction to the bike, and had me thinking about simple tweaks that Arch could make to customize the ergonomics precisely for me.

  

That’s part of the Arch experience, too. There’s just one price for a KRGT-1, and that’s $78,000. That price includes the buyer’s choice of color, finish and personalized detailing on the bike, without any extra charges or add-ons. The bike gets tailored to the rider and to the rider’s riding style and preferences, all included as part of the purchase price. The price is definitely premium, but so is the bike.

$15,000 reserves your KRGT-1, which can be built from start to finish in about 90 days.